Chemical Companies Controlled by Tycoon Jim Ratcliffe Obtained As Much As £70m in UK State Aid In the Last Four-Year Period
Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies under the ownership of tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.
Latest Revelations and Bailout Package
Based on government disclosures released this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.
Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges
This support arrives after Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a challenge for the government.
The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government help in October. The request comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, partly due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.
Nature of Aid and Official Responses
The majority of the previous state aid came in the form of tax relief in exchange for “commitments to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.
An Ineos representative said the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”
Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. High energy costs and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”
In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Future Environmental Pledges
The Ineos representative further stated: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to keep it as one of the most efficient chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from more polluting operations abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade plant performance.
He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.
It has also been reported that Ineos has in the past obtained significant tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.